What Is The Black Radical Congress (BRC)?

From the Black Radical Congress, 19–21 June 1998

On Juneteenth, 1998, on the campus of the University of
Illinois at Chicago more than 1,000 Black radicals - activists,
scholars, and artists will gather to reflect on our collective
past, analyze our contemporary reality and explore strategies and
visions for the future. Speakers and panels will examine a
variety of key topics. Black political prisoners, the eradication
of welfare, police brutality, the advance of technology and the
erasure of jobs, the prison industrial complex, the impact of
sexism and homophobia on the Black community, and the crisis of
leadership in our community. We will also celebrate the long and
rich tradition of Black resistance from Frederick Douglass and
Harriet Tubman to Paul Robeson, Malcolm X, Ella Baker and Audre
Lorde. There will also be cultural celebrations and remembrances:
music, performance and poetry. Books, magazines, posters,
t-shirts and a range of literature will be available in a virtual
marketplace of radical ideas. This will be an historic gathering
bringing together in the same room and on the same platform
individuals who have been deeply engaged in political struggle
for several decades alongside younger activists who we understand
are the freedom fighters of the future.

What Is The History Of The BRC And Why Is It Being Held?

The BRC grew out of a series of discussions among five
veteran activists, from very different political backgrounds
about the current political crisis facing African Americans and
other oppressed people in this country. This small core group
then began to talk to others about how we might more effectively
respond to the situation. We all were and are angered and
outraged by the sharp attacks being waged against our people: the
attacks on Affirmative Action, the brutal assault on services to
the poor and homeless, the erosion of public affordable housing,
the shrinking number of jobs and rapid growth of prisons, and the
call for male-dominated families as our salvation. All of these
developments combined send a signal that we are confronting an
urgent situation rendered even more urgent by the growing
visibility of conservative and reactionary forces within our
community; forces that would have us believe that we, rather than
the system we live under, are our worst enemy.

This expanded group then began to talk about the fragmented
state of the Black radical movement at a time when such
leadership is needed the most. We agreed that if we can learn
anything from the right it was their ability to transcend
ideological and organizational differences in order to mobilize
around issues like abortion. They were able to successfully
sustain a campaign, shift the dialogue and the underlying
assumptions governing that dialogue and maximize their use of
resources, including the media. It seemed to us the idea of
bringing together the varied sections of the Black radical
tradition - Socialists and Communists, revolutionary
nationalists, and radical Black feminists and womanists - was
long overdue. We began talking with others about the idea and
possibilities for such a gathering. In March of 1997, some 70
activists from more than twenty cities across the country came
together in Chicago to begin planning for a Black Radical
Congress. Those who gathered reflected a broad spectrum of the
radical tradition. Participants came as individuals but
represented connections to groups ranging from New Afrikan
People's Organization, Black Workers for Justice, The Labor
Party, The Communist Party, The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement,
African American Agenda 2000, The Chicago Ida B. Wells Forum and
the Committees of Correspondence. This group agreed to host a
Black Radical Congress and constituted itself as the
continuations committee. In order to expand and diversify the
planning group even further, each participant was asked to invite
one additional person to the next national meeting. The
discussion at the Chicago meeting was positive and energetic. The
group established principles of unity, committees, and a
timetable for moving forward. Three subsequent national meetings
of the continuations committee were held in Washington, D. C., in
May of 1997, in Atlanta in September, 1997, and most recently in
New York City in January of 1998. A "Call for the Congress" was
drafted and issued with the names of over 100 conveners. Some of
those who endorsed the call and have participated in the process
include: Abdul Alkalimat, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Manning Marable,
Leith Mullings, Barbara Ransby, Barbara Smith, Cornel West, Salim
Muwakkil, Charlene Mitchell, Angela Y. Davis, Amiri and Amina
Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Sam Anderson, Evelynn Hammonds, Julianne
Malveaux, Jarvis Tyner, General Baker, Ahmed Obafemi, Cathy
Cohen, Robin D. G. Kelley, and many others. As this effort gained
momentum, 300 plus people have participated in the planning
process.

Why Do We Need To Look At Radical Solutions To The Problems
Facing People Of African Descent?

The mainstream media would have us shrink from the term
"radical". Political radicals in recent years have been portrayed
as religious fanatics and violent terrorists. In the most basic
sense, radicalism means "getting to the root". Black radical
politics means looking at some of the fundamental injustices in
American society and attempting to root them out. For generations
we have engaged in reform struggles that have made gradual small
changes in the society. But we gain ground and we lose ground. At
the present moment we see a backlash in which the victories that
many people fought, marched, went to jail and died to win in the
1950s, 60s and 70s are now being systematically reversed. We need
radical solutions for the 21st century because the problems we
are experiencing are deep rooted, long-standing and fundamental.
For starters, we have to question a profit system in which the
rich get richer, with the richest 1% of the population
controlling 90% of the wealth. There is something fundamentally
wrong with a society in which some people live in multi-million
dollar homes while others hover in tunnels and abandoned
buildings because they have no home. At the same time, poor Black
women are vilified as an excuse for denying them welfare
benefits. There is something fundamentally wrong with a
government that spends more on parties and state dinners than it
is willing to spend on basic subsistence for poor families. We
want to critique the political and economic realities of American
capitalism on this fundamental level, at the same time that we
map out strategies for day to day survival and advancement, and
even more importantly, dare to dream and fight for something
better.

We embrace an identification with the term "radical", insist
on a radical critique of the society we live in, and celebrate
the radical tradition as noble and venerable. When we look at the
past we are reminded that many political leaders and visionaries
who are accepted and revered today were viewed as "radical" in
the past. In this category, we think of Denmark Vesey, Cinque and
the Amistad rebels, Sojourner Truth, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer,
and even Martin Luther King, Jr. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela
was labeled a radical and a "terrorist" for his opposition to
Apartheid. Today, he serves as the still-troubled nation's first
democratically elected president. We need to challenge negative
associations with radicalism and in contrast embrace a radical
tradition as our only hope for a more humane future and world.

How Can And Why Should Other Progressive Forces Support The BRC?

Historically, Black resistance to American injustice has
been a catalyst for other struggles, beginning with the militant
anti-slavery freedom fighters of the ante-bellum days. At the
same time we recognize that Black people don't have a monopoly on
oppression. The BRC sees the struggle for peace with justice, at
the same time we embrace the militant slogan - 'no justice, no
peace', as a global struggle. We are not narrow and exclusive in
our political vision. Even the term 'Black people' encompasses a
rich, diverse and international community spanning from Africa to
the Caribbean to Latin America. More fundamentally, we understand
we cannot assess our enemies or allies by skin color. We
recognize the struggles of Puerto Ricans, Chicanos, Native and
Asian Americans and poor whites as parallel to our own. We
understand the importance of struggling on multiple fronts
simultaneously. The BRC is one such front. We invite support and
solidarity from our sisters, brothers, and comrades around the
globe.

What Is Going To Happen After The BRC?

There is no hidden agenda or predetermined outcome. At the
same time, there are many possibilities. We can network and learn
more about the many different struggles and projects we are
collectively engaged in on local battlefronts throughout the
country. We can identify a common ground statement of unity to
connect us to one another. We can and will explore the likelihood
of future such gatherings. We can endorse ongoing campaigns and
perhaps identify new ones. We can and will build a national
communications network to continue collaborations.

Why Should African American Activists, Intellectuals, Organizers
And Artists Attend, Build And Participate In The BRC?

In Texas, California and Michigan, racist anti-Affirmative
Action laws have closed the doors of higher education for
thousands of students of color. From Rodney King to Abner Louima
to Jeremy Mearday in Chicago, police brutality continues.
Journalist and activist, Mumia Abu-Jamal, is still on death row
and sister Assata Shakur is still in exile in Cuba for her role
in the Black Liberation struggle. Black women are maligned as
promiscuous welfare queens, quota queens, or domineering
matriarchs outside of our communities, and unfortunately as
bitches and hoes by a small but vocal array of forces inside our
communities. The bottom line is that the Democratic Party will
not save us. A 21st century messiah will not save us. We have to
save ourselves. The radical self-help tradition is a tradition of
collective struggle. We can only begin that process by coming
together to learn, study, struggle and strategize. Please join
us.

9-10 a.m. Spiritual/Ritual Event around Juneteenth remembering
those who have sacrificed and gone before us, including exiles
and political prisoners

10-11:30 a.m. Short report backs from Saturday sessions

11:30-12:30 Lunch

12:30-3:00 Which Way Forward? What Comes Next?

3:30-4:00 Closing remarks

4:00-5:00 Cultural unity performance

Principles Of Unity

The Black Radical Congress will convene to establish a
"center without walls" for transformative politics that will
focus on the conditions of Black working and poor people.
Recognizing contributions from diverse tendencies within Black
Radicalism - including socialism, revolutionary nationalism and
feminism - we are united in opposition to all forms of
oppression, including class exploitation, racism, patriarchy,
homophobia, anti-immigration prejudice and imperialism. We will
begin with a gathering on June 19-21, 1998. From there we will
identify proposals for action and establish paths forward. The
Black Radical Congress does not intend to replace or displace
existing organizations, parties or campaigns but will contribute
to mobilizing unaffiliated individuals, as well as organizations,
around common concerns.

1. We recognize the diverse historical tendencies in the Black
radical tradition including revolutionary nationalism, feminism
and socialism.

2. The technological revolution and capitalist globalization have
changed the economy, labor force and class formations that need
to inform our analysis and strategies. The increased class
polarization created by these developments demands that we, as
Black radicals, ally ourselves with the most oppressed sectors of
our communities and society.

3. Gender and sexuality can no longer be viewed solely as
personal issues but must be a basic part of our analyses,
politics and struggles.

6. We need to meet people where they are, taking seriously
identity politics and single issue reform groups, at the same
time that we push for a larger vision that links these struggles.

7. We must be democratic and inclusive in our dealings with one
another, making room for constructive criticism and honest
dissent within our ranks. There must be open venues for civil and
comradely debates to occur.

8. Our discussions should be informed not only by a critique of
what now exists, but by serious efforts to forge a creative
vision of a new society.

9. We cannot limit ourselves to electoral politics - we must
identify multiple sites of struggles.

10. We must overcome divisions within the Black radical forces,
such as those of generation, region, and occupation. We must
forge a common language that is accessible and relevant.

11. Black radicals must build a national congress of radical
forces in the Black community to strengthen radicalism as the
legitimate voice of Black working and poor people, and to build
organized resistance.